Mumbai vs Kolkata, Preview, 53rd Match

Mumbai vs Kolkata would have ideally been hyped as a clash of the titans, but given the away record of Kolkata and the home record of Mumbai this season, the advantage is clearly with the hosts. Kolkata have lost all away games this year, while Mumbai have won all home games.

From a points table point of view though, this clash is important for both the teams. Mumbai are in a cluster at the top and are in a constant fight for a top 4 finish, while Kolkata are languishing at the bottom half and need to win every game from now to give themselves a chance of qualifying.

Mumbai:

Mumbai have had an up and down tournament till now but at home, they have been unbeatable, winning 5 out of 5 at the Wankhede. They will particularly be on a high after their thumping win against Chennai, where they bowled out the opposition for 79 defending 140. Can they carry the momentum into the Kolkata game?

Team news: Mumbai may not make any changes to the side that beat Chennai convincingly. Their batsmen had a rare off day in home conditions but their bowlers made up for it in a big way. Pollard struggled with his finger injury and miraculously dropped 3 consecutive catches in the last match, but it remains to be seen if Mumbai will risk resting him before sealing a final-4 spot.

Hit:

Harbhajan Singh - the former Mumbai captain has been an unsung hero for the franchise this season. He is their second highest wicket taker with 13 wickets at an economy of less than 7, and has even contributed with the bat at vital moments. In the previous match against Chennai, he returned figures of 4-0-13-1 after scoring a quick-fire 25 off 11 balls with the bat.

Miss -

Sachin Tendulkar - this former Mumbai captain has been struggling this season, leading to questions about his retirement (which never leave him anyway). He has only managed 186 runs at an average of 16.91 and has been the weak-link in the batting order. Can the Master turn things around?

Last 3 matches: Defeated Chennai by 60 runs, Lost to Hyderabad by 7 wickets, defeated Punjab by 4 runs.

Kolkata:

Kolkata are the defending champions but their performance this season has rarely matched that tag. They have been inconsistent and their performances has reflected in the points table; they are currently 7th in the table with 8 points (all of which came via home wins) from 11 games. They need to get onto a winning streak if they are to give themselves a chance at defending their title.

Team news: Kolkata are comfortable playing with their spinning options but they'll have to change their game-plan according to the pitches away from home. Mumbai is known to offer assistance to the pacers so they may think of dropping Senanayake for Brett Lee. Senanayake had figures of 4-0-50-1 when these two sides clashed in Kolkata, so that could go against him as well. In other news, Brendon McCullum has already left the squad for New Zealand's tour of England.

Hit:

Sunil Narine - the only consistent performer for Kolkata this season. He has picked 16 wickets at an economy of 5.68 and has been Gambhir's go-to man with the ball. The problem for Kolkata, however, is that the oppositions are aware of the danger he poses and are willing to play him out and target the other bowlers.

Miss:

Kallis - The South African legend has not been in the best of forms this season and has scored only 219 runs from 11 matches at an average of 21.9. He is a vital part of the top order but the fact that he hasn't scored even one half century so far this season reflects the woes of his team's batting form. With the ball, however, he has been in decent form and has picked up 11 wickets, the second most by any bowler from Kolkata after Narine.

Last 3 matches: Defeated Rajasthan by 8 wickets, Lost to Delhi by 7 wickets, Lost to Chennai by 14 runs.

Head to head: played 11, Mumbai 9, Kolkata 2.

Quotes:

Whether it's the start or the end of a tournament, we always go out there to win. The desperation is always there - Gambhir

CB pick: Mumbai - current form and head to head record suggests that it would be hard to bet against Mumbai for this encounter.